The Stone Coffins of Heysham – July Winner

The Stone Coffins of Heysham

Did you guess where Otto visited on the 1st July? Well 15 people correctly identified Otto’s whereabouts – The Stone Coffins of Heysham, or to be more exact, the Rock Hewn Graves by the Ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel (don’t worry, we weren’t picky, Heysham Head Stone Graves/Heysham’s Viking Grave Slabs will do!)

So what did Otto learn on his jolly visit to the windy headland? The ruins of St Patrick’s Chapel are a grade 1 listed building, and legend has it, St Patrick was shipwrecked off the coast of Heysham. He believed his survival was down to the gods mercy and built the eponymous chapel to say thank you. While the story is a quaint one, it’s almost certainly just a story, with the building seemingly dating around 300 years after Patrick’s death.

A Grave Concern…

A bigger mystery, and still yet to be solved, is the Rock Hewn Graves – their purpose, and who was buried in them remains unknown. The six stone coffins are alleged to be some of the earliest Christian graves in the UK and archaeologist digs have found Viking and Saxon remains.

Some say the stone coffins are for the privileged, to overlook the Lake District hills for eternity. Others argue they are unlikely to be burial places because of their small size, although perhaps they could have been repositories for bones. It has also been speculated they are children’s graves, from wealthy families. Only one thing is certain, the stone coffins appear on the CD cover of the ‘The Best of Black Sabbath’!

And The Winner Is…

So from the 15 entries we had, using a random number generator, it’s time to announce the winner…*drum roll please*…

And so, the July Winner of £100 of LPC Furniture Vouchers goes to: Wendy Rogerson from Lancaster!

Congratulations Wendy! And thank you to everyone who entered. Otto would like to remind you that they’ll be another chance to guess Where’s Otto? and another great chance of winning £100. Watch this space next month on the 1st August (and keep a look out on our facebook page!)

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